New York City Civil Court - Housing Part

Answering a Case

If you have received a petition
from the civil court, you must appear and answer
within the time period provided for in the notice
of petition. If you have received a postcard from the
court indicating that papers have been filed asking the court
to evict you from
your residence, you must also answer. You should bring a
copy of the court papers you received, or the postcard from
the court, when you come to answer.

If you are an individual, you may answer either orally or
in writing. Any individual named as respondent, or any person
in possession or claiming possession of the premises, may
submit an answer. Your answer should include any legal
or equitable defense or explanation that you might have.
You may also make a counterclaim
in response to a petition at that time.

The time to answer the petition and the procedures for answering
a nonpayment petition and a holdover
petition differ and are set forth below. You should bring a copy of the court papers you received, or the postcard from the court, when you come to answer. The clerk will ask you to show some form of identification.

Answering
a Nonpayment Petition

If you are served with a nonpayment petition you must answer
within 5 days after you have received the notice of petition.
To find out where to answer in your county, refer to Locations.
The clerk will set a date for trial between 3 days and 8 days
after you answer. You may answer orally or in writing.

To answer orally, you must come to Court and speak to a
clerk at the counter who will check off a Landlord/Tenant
Answer In Person form based upon what you tell him or her.
You should tell the clerk if you are in the military or a dependent of someone in the military. The Answer in Person form contains a list of possible defenses
that may or may not apply to you. After the clerk completes
this form you will get a duplicate copy of it. Check to make
sure that your answer was correctly recorded by the clerk
before you leave the counter. If the answer is not correct,
tell the clerk. Bring your copy of this form and all court
papers to court on the hearing date.

You may answer in writing by using a free Civil Court form,
or your own form. You may come to the clerk’s office
and request a Landlord/Tenant Answer In Writing And Verification
form from the clerk at the counter. You will be given two
duplicate copies of this form. You may also download the
form now. You can download the Answer in Writing Instructions.

The procedure for a written answer is more
complicated and if not done properly, your answer may be rejected.
You must fill out the written answer form and then serve the form on the other side. If you do not prepare your written
answer in court, the procedure is slightly different. Go to Serving Your Written Answer for
instructions on how to serve the answer correctly. Bring your
copy of the answer and all court papers to court on the hearing
date.

Answering
a Holdover Petition

If you are served with a holdover petition, generally you
must answer orally or in writing in the courtroom on the date
of the hearing. However, if the petitioner serves the notice
of petition at least 8 days prior to the return date, the
notice of petition may ask you to answer at least 3 days before
the hearing date. To find out where to answer in your county,
go to Locations.

If you answer orally by coming to the court and speaking
to a clerk at the counter, the clerk will indorse
your answer on the court file. You should tell the clerk if you are in the military or a dependent of someone in the military. You may also answer in writing
by coming to court and asking the clerk for a Landlord/Tenant
Answer In Writing And Verification form, or you may submit
your own written answer. You may also download the Answer in Writing civil court
form. You can download the
Answer in Writing Instructions. The procedure for a written answer is more
complicated and if not done properly, your answer may be rejected.
You must fill out the written answer form and then serve
the form on the other side. If you do not prepare your written
answer in court, the procedure is slightly different. Continue
reading below for instructions on how to serve the answer
correctly. Bring your copy of the answer and all court papers
to court on the hearing date.

Serving
Your Written Answer

After you have completed a written answer, you must serve
the petitioner by following the instructions below.

1. Make two copies of the completed written answer.
2. Have someone over the age of 18, who is not a party in
this action, mail a copy of the written answer by regular
mail to the attorney for the petitioner or to the petitioner
directly only if there is no attorney.
3. You may also have someone over the age of 18, who is not
a party in the action, personally deliver the written answer
to the petitioner’s attorney, or the petitioner directly
only if there is no attorney.
4. Next you need an affidavit
swearing that the written answer was served. Download the free Affidavit
of Service civil court form.
5. Prepare an Affidavit of Service for the service on the
petitioner and have the person who served the written answer
sign the Affidavit of Service in front of a notary.
6. Attach the original Affidavit of Service to the original
written answer.
7. For Nonpayment cases,
return the written answer and affidavit of service to the
Court within five days of receiving the notice of petition.
8. For Holdover cases,
if the notice of petition requires you to answer prior to
the hearing date, you must return the original of the answer
and affidavit of service in the court at least three days
before the hearing date. Otherwise, you may bring the written
answer to court on the hearing date.
9. Keep a copy for your records and bring all your papers
with you when you come to court for the hearing date.

Jury
Demand

You can also request that your case be tried before a jury.
In a jury trial, the jury, not the judge, makes the decision
and a judgment is entered based on the verdict reached by
the jury.

If you wish to make a jury demand, you should request a jury
trial when you answer the petition. You can tell the clerk
and pay the jury demand fee. Go to Court
Fees to learn the amount of the fee. If you cannot afford
to pay the fee, you may be entitled to have the fee waived.
Refer to Poor Person’s Relief
to learn more.

Keep in mind that the Judge may later decide that you are
not entitled to a jury trial because you gave up your right
in your lease. Most leases include an agreement to give up
a right to a jury trial.

You can also request a jury demand at a later time. However,
the judge may deny your request, if you wait too long. For
more information on filing a late jury demand, go to Timeliness
of Jury Demands to read the Civil Court Directive on the
subject.

Inspection
Request

If you have a repair problem in your apartment or building,
you should ask for an inspection from the clerk or the Judge
the first time you are in court or as soon after that as possible.
An inspector from the Department of Housing Preservation and
Development will come to your home and make a report to the
court. The report will help you prove that there are bad conditions
that need repair.

If you request an inspection, you may get a date for the
inspection and a date to return to court. You will be asked
to make a list of the repairs needed. Make sure to include
every problem in each room of your apartment and in the public
areas of the building. To view a copy of the Tenant’s
Request for Inspection, make an Inspection
Request. If you fail to include a problem or area on the
inspection request form, the inspector may refuse to look
at it.

On the day of the inspection, it is important that someone
be home to let the inspector in. Be sure to show the inspector
all of the problems you listed.

Traverse
Hearing

If you did not receive a copy of the notice of petition and
petition, or you believe that the papers were not served
properly, that is a defense to the case and should be included
in your answer. Refer to Service
of the Notice of Petition and Petition to learn more about
the proper way to deliver legal papers. If you raise this
defense, the judge may decide to set a date for a hearing,
called a traverse hearing, to decide whether the service of
the court papers was proper.

At the traverse hearing, the landlord’s process server
may be asked to tell under oath how he or she served you with
the court papers. You will have the right to ask the process
server questions, to testify
yourself, and to call witnesses to explain that the papers
were not delivered properly.

If the judge finds that the service of the papers were not
served properly, the case will be dismissed
without prejudice. The landlord may start the case over
again by giving you a new set of papers. If you receive another
set of papers, you must come to court and answer them again.